PC desktop & MacBook Pro sharing same workstation - HELP

[Creature Lurkin]

I’m trying to figure out a way for a MacBook Pro and a desktop PC to share the same workstation. I currently have a desktop PC connected to HDMI monitor, midi keyboard, USB audio interface, and wireless keyboard/mouse. I just got a brand new 2017 MacBook Pro as a present. I want to be able to still use the PC desktop as normal, but also plug the laptop in and essentially have it share and utilize all of the same external peripherals so I can produce music on it the same as I would with the PC.

Even if I remove the desktop PC completely from the equation, I would still need a docking station so the MacBook Pro could connect to all the peripherals via one of the thunderbolt ports. But also being able to switch back-and-forth between the PC and the MacBook Pro is kind of confusing to me. I don’t know if I’m going to need a docking station for the MacBook Pro, and also a KVM switch to flip back-and-forth between the monitor and other peripherals. A lot of the KVM switches I see also only seem to have 2 USB ports for a keyboard and mouse. Which wouldn’t be enough if you include the USB audio interface and the USB midi keyboard.


I could really use some help on how people have accomplish this in the past and the best way to go about this. It’s been 15 years since I’ve even used a KVM style switch and I’m not sure if that’s the best/proper method today to get this dual setup running.

Thanks in advance for the help, I’m a bit lost here. This MacBook Pro is also my very first Mac computer so I’m dealing with new unfamiliar territory for sure.

[Kaine]

People don't tend to work quite like that, in that they don't share the midi keyboard & interface so I'm not sure how many answers you'd get.

I've seen networked attached USB hubs that should do most of what you want, although they wouldn't be linked to KVM, so wouldn't be ideal. My concern is latency over the network going through the hub. There is so much that could go wrong there with timing, that it's going to be a real roll of the dice to get anything working as you'd require. In fact I've tried sharing a USB interface before and it just wouldn't enumerate at all. Y.M.M.V

KVM stands for keyboard/video/mouse. Perhaps the reason you're not seeing more than 2 USB is that they would no longer be KVM switches if they did!

[whyterabbyt]

VirtualHere is probably the best/cheapest alternative to a networked USB hub. But unless you used a third box (eg a raspberry pi) as the server you'd need both systems to be on (ie hook all devices up to the PC, run the VH server on that, client on the mac)

[Creature Lurkin]

Thanks for the replies. I’ll continue to do my research and see if I can find the best route to take. Sounds like a hub and a multiple switches for HDMI and USB might be what I’m looking for. But that kid present issues and itself.

I have to look into the network side. I’m not sure if that is considered what virtual machine does or if that something totally different. But I’ve heard of lots of issues on that and especially with latency.

[djmino02]

I'm considering trying the same kind of set up w/ a PC and Mac running together. PC w/ Ableton Live and Mac w/ Logic.

I know I can use ethernet over a midi network and it's also possible to share screens over network connected devices too.

Not sure how well it works though.

[whyterabbyt]

I know I can use ethernet over a midi network

Do you mean MIDI over an ethernet network?

[djmino02]

Yeah. I'm pretty clueless when it comes to that kind of stuff.

I guess I'll need a network switch if I want to share midi with two different computers?

[BertKoor]

Plug two 4-port usb hubs into the KVM.
A mbp dock is probably not worth the cost. Just plugging in a cable is nk hassle imho.
Just have a USB-C to usb2 adapter going to a (switched) hub.

[whyterabbyt]

Yeah. I'm pretty clueless when it comes to that kind of stuff.

I guess I'll need a network switch if I want to share midi with two different computers?

That depends on how you do things.

Bert's solution of hooking all your USB stuff up to a USB hub, and then just physically swapping the cable to the USB hub between computers is the easiest way to go, if those computers are relatively physically close to each other.

Obviously you could do that via a USB-capable KVM especially if you're already sharing keyboard/video/mouse.

If they're not that close to each other, but are networked together (whether physically, or via wifi, whether directly or via an intermediate ethernet hub/router/switch) then like I said a USB-over-ethernet solution like VirtualHere(*) is a potential soptions. You plug the USB devices into one computer, then run the VirtualHere server, and another computer running the VH client can 'connect' to the USB devices.

(*) Note : VirtualHere is not a virtual machine. Its USB transport over a network.

So far, though, all this is about sharing the USB devices as USB devices. If you want to share the MIDI, that's actually a different thing again. You've got similar options (swapping physical cables, some sort of MIDI switch, MIDI-over-ethernet) but they'd be done slightly differently (ie there's no KVM for MIDI, you'd use RTP-MIDI rather than VirtualHere etc).

And you can additionally send MIDI directly between the two computers if they have their own MIDI interfaces, so that gives you a further option. If one computer has all the devices set up, its quite possible it could just forward the MIDI to the other. ( And if they're networked then you can alsot use some sort of remote desktop solution to access the other machine if there's anything you need to do on it. )

[djmino02]

I use RTP midi currently for din midi mainly. I'm just not sure how to send send to two different computers.

I tried an old router and it didn't work at all. My computer kept thinking it was an internet connection or something.

From what I've gathered I'll need a network switch to sync up midi with two computers.